Labour’s Gorton and Denton by-election defeat shows ‘chasm’ between Westminster politicians and voters, Andy Burnham says
Andy Burnham said the Gorton and Denton by-election “revealed the full depth of the gulf between the public and Westminster politics” as he broke his silence on Labor’s defeat to the Green Party.
The mayor of Greater Manchester was blocked from becoming Labor’s candidate in last week’s by-election by the party’s National Executive Committee over fears he could challenge the prime minister for the leadership.
But he has made plenty of appearances on the campaign trail, with the party’s candidate Angeliki Stogia coming in third behind the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer and Reform England’s Matt Goodwin.
At an event at the British Library in London on Wednesday, Mr Burnham said the results showed Westminster was not focused on the priorities of ordinary people.
Mr Burnham said: “From my perspective, I’m certainly not here to talk about my career plans, other than to say that, as you know, I’m writing a book with Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool City, about leaving Westminster and establishing devolution across England.
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“That’s what it’s called Head north. All I can say today is that the sequel, ‘Head South,’ is currently on hold.”
He added: “What I want to say today is that it is absolutely time to have a serious conversation about our political system and its pervasive culture, especially in the wake of the Gorton and Denton by-elections.
“It revealed the full depth of the gulf between people and Westminster politics. I don’t think anyone could seriously object to that statement.”
Defeat in Gorton and Denton was damaging to Labor. He tried to retain a 13,000-vote majority in the 2024 general election, which saw Andrew Gwynne elected, but was beaten by the winner, Ms Spencer, by more than 5,000 votes.
The constituency was created in 2024 due to boundary changes, although previous iterations have long been held by the Labor Party – Manchester Gorton since 1935, and Denton and Reddish since its formation in 1983.
Several Gorton and Denton voters told Independent During the campaign they said they would not vote Labor but would do so if Mr Burnham was the candidate.
Mr Burnham, who represented the Greater Manchester seat of Leigh as an MP from 2001 to 2017 and served in Gordon Brown’s government, was re-elected for a third term as mayor of the city region in May 2024 with 63 per cent of the vote.
Lifelong Labor voters John Harrison, 71, and Sheila Harrison, 69, from Denton, said Sir Keir Starmer did not represent towns like theirs and they would not vote Labor unless Mr Burnham was on the ballot paper.
“The Labor Party is not actually doing what they said they would do in the manifesto,” John said, adding that he felt let down by the government.
“I would vote for Andy Burnham,” John added.
He said Mr Burnham had more personality and was able to connect with northern voters. He believes the Greater Manchester mayor is on his side, unlike Sir Keir, whom he describes as “distant”. Sheila agreed.
Retired midwife Andrea Anwyl, 77, was another lifelong Labor supporter in Denton who was disillusioned with the government. He said he would probably vote for the Greens but would “definitely” vote for Mr Burnham if he were the Labor candidate.
“I don’t like Starmer. I don’t like what he’s doing,” he said.
Caterina Pandolfo, 65, said she could not forgive the Labor NEC’s treatment of the mayor of Manchester.
He said: “That way [Starmer] The treatment of Andy Burnham was disgusting.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think he’s doing very well, Keir Starmer,” he adds. “He could do so much.”
The mayor spoke at the think tank Center for Cities’ “The emergence of Manchesterism from devolution” event on Wednesday, touching on his time in office and his ambitions for the region.
Merseyside-born Mr Burnham described the poll by More In Common, which found the majority of people believe the cost of living crisis will never end, as a “code red for Westminster politics”.
He added: “This is becoming extremely dangerous and change in our political system and culture is sorely needed.”
